


Be Jack

by hanihyunsu



Series: Beyond The Moon, Never Back [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Cardverse, Chinese Character, Debt, Exhaustion, Family, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Fear, Flashbacks, Gen, I Tried, I'm Bad At Tagging, Nationalism, Past, Repaying Debt, Secret Relationship, Secrets, Spies & Secret Agents, Suspicions, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-16 12:20:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18521413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanihyunsu/pseuds/hanihyunsu
Summary: The Jack of Spades realizes the Ace's suspicious past and the connection between Matthew, Francis and Arthur.It was all thanks to a curious teenage ambassador.//Yao figures it out and Arthur doesn't seem like he would admit something anytime soon.//





	Be Jack

**Author's Note:**

> Jia Long/Leon- Hongkong  
> Mei- Taiwan  
> Chaiya- Thailand  
> Yong Soo- Korea  
> Abel- The Netherlands  
> Emma- Belgium

 It really was true—the Diamond castle is built to showcase their wealth. Appreciated from the city and even beyond, the royal palace was descried glimmering under the sun like a solid gold bar. Its spires reach high to the sky and its highest tower can discern the edges of the state. The carvings on its windowsills were intricate and elegant as well, although that doesn't end there. The inside was just as good as the outside, as the rooms are furnished by rich wood and expensive porcelain, possibly a gift from Hearts. Yellow and black fabric curtain the windows and carpet the hallways, which designs were just as fascinating on itself. It was better since he visited the castle the last time, Yao observed. He turned on his heel away from the window and continued walking to the office assigned to them.

He, along with the monarchs he served, went to the Diamonds to discuss their debt. He already went once before, alone, and negotiated with Vash, but it seemed that the meeting needed to involve the Kings and Queens of both parties to successfully come to a compromise. Even Vash himself thought seven trillion was too much and very unnecessary, and it was one of the things Yao was grateful for. They had a chance of cutting off the debt to at least a lone trillion or even less.

The starving Kingdom of Spades had _no way_  of paying off a multitrillion debt. Curse their monetary policies and the god forsaken interests.

It had been two days since they arrived, bringing a hundred million in cash just in case, when they stumbled upon Diamond's week-long music festival the day they went. That left them on standby for the meeting until the Diamond King finally finished taking care of the festivities. Alfred had already spoken to Francis about the limited time they could spend at Diamond territory, and the Diamond King complied, rescheduling the date to as early as the following evening and passing the festival paperwork to Lili and Vash.

Yao had a weird feeling Francis had more on his plate than just the festivities, though. Paperwork is easy; he had a gut feeling that Diamonds had another issue on hand. What could it be? He had no idea. 

Yao sighed, resting his head and massaging his temples, sitting at his desk. Arthur was somewhere else having tea and Alfred was probably looking for something to do. Matthew went with Alfred too, leaving him to be on standby. He was the primary speaker here, unless Arthur or Alfred had to change things up. Out of the four of them, he was the one with the least free time.

It's not like he wasn't used to it. He trained half his life to be _stressed-_

" **Sir Yao,** " a stern voice called from the outside. " **Someone wishes to speak with you."**

He can't help but roll his eyes. " _ **Great, another problem,**_ " he muttered to himself, fixing his sleeves and his hair. Once he straightened on his chair and grabbed a random book to seem busy, he called out. " **Alright, come in please.** "

The door creaked, opened by a maid. A familiar face stepped inside, waving lazily and plopping down on the chair in front of his desk. " **Hey mom**."

He immediately dropped his professional persona. Grabbing a newspaper and rolling it up (it was his special talent), he smacked the teenager on the head. " **Good heavens, Jia Long, I'm not your mother.** " He frowned, but released a relieved sigh. It was nice seeing family again. 

His supposed siblings were sent as ambassadors to the other kingdoms, and the one assigned to Diamonds was one of the youngest. If one were to ask Yao, it was unfair and he was against it if anything. He haven't seen Jia Long, Mei and Chaiya for a few months now and the only one that he was left with was none other than the frisky Yong Soo.

The teen sat back on the chair, holding a Spadian handheld puzzle on his hand and fiddling with it. Despite wearing golden clothing made with exquisite Diamond silk, the teenager still branded his Spadian royal blue sash and overcoat. It was bizarre seeing blue and yellow-gold together, but he was glad nonetheless. " **It's weird being called by my real name again,** " the brunet said, " ** _Jia Long_...it's interesting.**"

Yao rolled his eyes, sitting back down. His youngest brother claimed the English name of _Leon Kirkland_ to pass as an ambassador and hide his affiliation with him, the Jack. There are weird and extensive rules that exist in the Spade-Diamond border and it was all but simple. Exceptions and specifics were thrown on the law that even Yao cannot completely decipher it. Only the King and Queen of either country could bend the rules to their own will, and Arthur did so many things with the law already—two of which involved taking Matthew and Leon across the border. The reason Arthur had to go through drastic ways to help Jia Long was that internationally, ambassadors affiliated with the Jack, King or Ace are highly suspicious and are often rejected and accused as spies. Thanks to Arthur (and Alfred too), Spades managed to come by.

Spades _always_  managed to come by.

" **How's Diamonds? Did you make any friends?** " he asked passively, watching as Leon flicked the slide puzzle pieces beneath his fingers. Leon had never been the closest to him as a brother and he the last one Yao would expect to visit him, and so he was glad that Leon decided to do so anyway.

" **I got a room at the office wing. It was great, I guess...** " the teen hummed, " **And yeah, maybe, _I don't know_. Everyone's so busy, nobody had time to talk.**"

Yao smirked. " **But you are here.** "

Leon shrugged, placing down his puzzle. " **I guess.** " He ran a hand through his hair and snapped his knuckles. " **Sensei, I saw Queen Arthur and King Francis together at the garden earlier. I also got a bunch of paperwork about money from the Queen, so I guess Spades messed up bigtime, huh?** "

Leon had always been a killjoy. Yao frowned at the mention of the debt. " **Yes, a debt. The Queen and the King together, however...** "

" **I figured. It takes a lot for the Queen to accompany the King willingly without much tension or professionalism,** " Leon said, " **Hit or miss?"**

The older brother tapped the wooden desk with a pencil. " **Right,** " he replied with distaste in his mouth. He clearly hated how the younger generation basically created their own language with those slangs and tone. However, he hated the fact that Arthur spoke with Francis more. 

That could only mean trouble. Everyone knew full well that Francis is still not over Matthew being taken from him. Nobody but the two knew the full story but it was more or less the King's misery and the Queen's guilt, _that's for sure_.

He could only pray that Arthur doesn't hit the wrong cord and multiply their debt to a few more trillion euroes. Arthur, as a queen, knew what he was doing but Arthur as a person had a scarce control over his sarcasm and pride. Yao could never be so sure when it comes to those two; _heck,_ he even had more security if it was Alfred speaking to Francis instead.

" **Sensei,** " Leon called again. " **How was Spades?** "

He was shaken out of his daze with the emotion that suddenly appeared in Leon's voice. Yao met his eyes sprinkled with concern and he assumed he heard of the riots and poverty happening back in Spades. As a Jack, he had to tell the truth and clearly on the way.

" **It wasn't good, Leon. The debt affected us as a country, and Clubs are more than likely to seize the moment and strike us as we are distracted from pulling pennies,** " Yao answered, looking down. " **Spadian military is fine. It's the civilians we are having a problem about.** "

Leon hummed, staring off into space. They shared a moment of silence, too quiet that they can almost hear their hearts pounding against their rib cages, until Leon broke the serenity once again. " **Sensei, the royal games will come soon. Will Spades play?** "

He furrowed his eyebrows at the question. Leon sounded so concerned. _What does the games had anything to do with their debt? It's like playing with a puppy while suffering from a snake bite._  Nonetheless, he considered the possibility and ended up with an answer. Arthur had the royal cards, embedded with the richest blue and shinest gold at the back, and it would be unlikely for him to simply lose it. _Unlike a certain king he knew..._

" **No, unlikely, why?** " he asked. Leon looked back down at his slide puzzle in thought. The Royal Cards are used every year at the games, and it was anticipated due to its tension, diversity and ironically, unification and peace. Spades had an impressive win rate due to Arthur and Alfred playing the cards excellently, and Yao's betting strategy.

" **Diamonds isn't playing. _Again._ Either they don't want to bet their money or something was up about their cards and wealth,**" he whispered. Yao took a while before processing the words, leaning back on his chair and looking at his younger brother unimpressed. Somehow, a part of him was believing Leonーthe teen seemed that he wasn't being passive and sounded like he was finally sure of what he was saying for once. 

" **Al...right, I see. But the royal games aren't much of our concern right now--** "

The younger brunet stood up, eyes fixed to his slide puzzle but faced the Spadian Jack nonetheless. If the meet was formal, it would be highly disrespectful, but that was a matter between brothers who also acted as lowcost spies. Leon took a sharp breath and cleared his throat.

" **Have you noticed something about how the kingdom of wealth are becoming too protective of their money? No, they should've bailed from loaning us something, _right?_ The reason they must have abstained from playing against Spades, Hearts and Clubs must have been because something happened to their cards, the only other requirement to enter the arena aside from betting money,**" Leon explained slowly and quietly, his voice almost inaudible at its softness. " _ **...I think.**_ "

Now he was equal parts interested, curious and overwhelmed. " **What made you bring up the cards?** " Leon isn't stupid nor dumb. As an educated young man, Yao trained him to be attentive, curious and constantly think of strategies and connecting information. If he mentioned _something,_ it has to mean _something._

At least he trusted Leon enough to not joke around during drastic times.

" **I saw King Francis holding his cards earlier, taking a stroll with our queen. I did overhear Vash and Antonio a while ago discussing the royal games and how Diamonds will abstain because of card issues,** " Leon whispered, leaned closer, " **Have you noticed a pattern now, sensei? Or do you know the issue all along and _you're just hiding it from me?_** "

Yao frowned. This discussing is not going according to his way. He doesn't understand anything. Before he could reply or inquire, footsteps were heard and before anything, the door bursted open with the loudest "Hello!" he could ever hear in his entire life.

" **Oh hello, Leon! Nice to see you again!** " King Alfred entered swiftly, the ace following right behind to properly close the door and guard it. Matthew waved silently in contrast to Alfred's boisterous greeting.

Leon bowed to his king and returned the greeting. Alfred dismissed the bow and Leon looked back at his older brother to say goodbye. " **Think about it, sensei. It seemed you didn't realize it yet.** " Before anything, he stepped out the door which Matthew opened.

His King plopped on the seat near the window, grabbing a random newspaper from the coffee table and decided to scan the pages to kill time. Matthew also gave him the coffee they must have ordered. Their meeting was scheduled a few hours ahead, and Yao already proofread and memorized his speech far too many times to count. He decided to open his journal instead and placed a few charts around his desk to make it seem as if he was working even if he's not. Alfred won't disturb him very much like this; he learned the hard way.

What Leon said had started to bug him. What was with the Diamond royal cards and what does it have to do with them? He immediately recalled to their first game as newly crowned monarchs. Arthur was the only one who knew how to play traditional poker and so he faced Francis, Elizaveta and Ludwig. Yao made a beginner mistake that night and had bet a few thousand euros more than their budget, but fortunately they won and took home the one million euro cash prize. It was also Diamond's first loss, which gave them the King of Diamond's attention.

It was back when Spades was still missing an ace. Matthew was still a Diamond citizen at the time, Arthur was still a fiery monster in everything he does, Alfred was still friends with the Clubian King and lastly, Yao wasn't as stressed as he was now. Francis took a weird interest with the gambling Queen of Spades and attempted to invite him to more games, which were declined and was compromised by a conversation over wine. Alfred was suspicious but Arthur stepped out slightly tipsy, but is fine and even made a new friend: King Francis of Diamonds. Yao remembered the day it went down on history as the day Spades and Diamonds were civil for once. He took the opportunity to befriend Vash and organize a better trade with Diamonds and so all of Spades and Diamonds fluorished.

Then it all came crashing down just months later when Alfred and Arthur found Matthew and the Ace of Spades was finally found. Spadians were suspicious of a former Diamond-citizen becoming their ace, but it was held safe by the fact that he was the King's cousin. The main storm, however, was that the year of peace fell down on its own weight as Diamonds returned the high prices for fabric and traded goods, making Spades suffer out of the King's grudge with Spades. Yao almost sent an angry letter to Vash consisting of multiple Cantonese _and_ Mandarin curses. That's how drunk he was that night, risking a war out of his anger at the sight of an _eight thousand dollar_ carpet.

That was also the year when Diamonds first abstained from the games and kept abstaining ever since. Vash avoided the question and Lili would politely decline to answer, and Antonio _...well,_ he'd be speaking to a smiling statue if he attempted. To be precise, it was a complete mystery.

Now that Leon mentioned Francis and Arthur's rendezvous and the Diamond cards issue though...

Yao looked up right ahead, locking his eyes on the tall blond man in front of him. The man's hand was laying over the handle of his sword, standing straight and looking over the room watchfully.

Does it have anything to do with Matthew....?

_Holy fucking chopstick, he got it now!_

" **Alfred!** " he flinched out of his thoughts as the door was opened and in came Arthur, just the person he wanted to see. Although, Yao kept looking down, faking his work persona. It seemed he was fine and wasn't shot or anything, _it's all okay...right?_

He went to Alfred and the two bickered as usual. Yao kept thinking more and more about the situation and the more he thought, the more he could find pieces of evidence to support his guess. Leon was right, it did had a pattern.

_The Diamonds started skipping the royal games the year Matthew left Francis._

It was a small problem, if he were to admit. What made him concerned over a random deck of cards was the fact that Arthur was the one who had to negotiate with Francis all by himself. Arthur haven't mentioned anything to him, and his queen had been known to keep a lot of things a secret. Either way, what could he do to help...?

" **I don't know yet. For now we need to follow their lead,** " he heard Arthur say. " **Yao, was there any news from home?** "

Yao glanced at the letters he received from their royal guard the day before. " **Just the same old riots, nothing Abel and Emma couldn't handle.** " The brunet shook his head. Those two are the next most capable humans in Spades to rule. He could only hope the siblings maintain control for so long.

He heard Matthew inquire about the situation. Yao even found himself slightly wary of Matthew now that he figured something out. _Was he the reason Francis was so angry at them?_  Probably, he can't say for sure, but it is likely.

_I can't believe I just figured it out now_ , he thought. Jia Long takes the credit, he was the brains that figured it out first. He could make millions from this. 

" **Yao, could you please prepare our money for the first installment? I have a feeling our debt had something to do with the problem,** " Arthur said. It made the Spadian Jack pause in his business, slowly looking up and meeting the queen's eyes. Arthur stared at the Jack silently and blankly, but Yao could hear in his tone that he had something up his sleeve. Nonetheless, _what could he do anyway?_ He cannot think of anything as of now.

Out of any rebuttals, he stood up and bowed, following the command. He marched right out of the room and into the safe Vash lent them. Although, Vash is nowhere to be seen and it would take forever to look for him. Yao spotted the queen instead.

" **Hello, Sir Yao!** " Lili greeted. The old Spadian almost stumbled on his way to bow to the blond queen from the head. She smiled sweetly at him, dismissing the bow. " **Have you seen Vash?** "

" **No, m'lady. I am on my search for him as well. I wish to get to our safe,** " he replied. She recognized the information and hummed, pulling out the keys from the pocket in her dress.

" **I have the keys to the safe. I'd like to assist you instead, and help me find Vash later,** " she said, moving forward before Yao could reply. _God, all queens really do act the same in one way or another. They're all bossy and scary as hell,_ although Yao would rather get exiled to Clubs than admit that out loud.  He've met Elizaveta once and he almost died of a heart attack when she pulled out the sword to him. Same could be said when he met Kiku, but it was a katana instead. He literally had war flashbacks just from those. 

As the two walked to the safe, he kept thinking about Matthew, Francis and Arthur. Knowing the latter, a small problem could grow into a war and it is his jobーno one else'sーto prevent that.

_Arthur, I really hope you'd be honest to me_ , he chanted. 

**Author's Note:**

> im so tired its 22:23 and my eyes burn 
> 
> Up Next: The King of Spades and him thinking of Matthew and how to kill Ivan and somehow managing to crack the code simultaneously - By Fall Out Boy 
> 
> jk i need to rest ive been awake for so long
> 
> also i like to mention that every part in this series is standalone but whatevs im going to explain it at Be King or Be Ace so wait tf up ok be patient pls dont hit me thanks for reading
> 
> edit: ask me/stalk my/follow my sht on tumblr: @hanihyunsu ok byE


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